The Deal
by cherryredchucks
Summary: A pact made between two friends might just change both their lives for forever. AU Future Fic LITERATI!
1. Chapter One

Rory Gilmore was tired. No, tired was an understatement. Tired indicated that with a little rest and maybe another couple dozen cups of coffee, she'd be fine. However, this feeling (which as yet has been unnamed) was one of a weariness that went beyond just her aching limbs and sleep- deprived bleary vision. As she landed with a rather resounding "FOOMPH" on her bed of her Yale dorm, she let out a noise that would have made Mr. Ed proud.  
  
"I'm a horse. A horse is a horse of course of course...GAH SHUT UP BRAIN!" Rory shook her head slightly. Sleep deprivation did not agree with her. She mentally noted not to do it again. Summoning what was left of her strength, she rolled over and looked at the blinking red light on her answering machine. That damn light. If she didn't listen to the messages, she could miss an important call. If she did listen to the messages, more precious seconds would be wasted in consciousness.  
  
"I'll listen to the messages," she mumbled to no one in particular. Her roommate was out, probably getting groceries as it was her week to do so. "Then I will turn off the phone and go to sleep. For a thousand year. Rory Van Winkle, that's what they'll call me..." She trailed off, her sleepless train of thought rattled. The answering machine made a loud beeping noise which made her wince. There was a lot of loudness in this room that she had never noticed before.  
  
"Message One:" The machine prompted. "Hey Babe, it's me. And if you don't know who me is, then I'm putting you up for adoption. I know you're all stressed and freaked about your finals and what not but you shouldn't be. It's your last year at Yale. After that, it's lease payments and auto bills! See what you have to look forward to? Anyway, you shouldn't be listening to this message, you need to be out having fun. Go hire a stripper! And I'll see you on Friday for graduation! I'm so proud of you babe!" Rory smiled sleepily. She was about to doze off when the machine cheerfully announced there was another message.  
  
"Hey Gilmore. Out slacking off, I assume. You always were the one everyone had to keep tabs on. Geez, you're lucky you had me here to be a beacon of hope for you." Rory's grin widened a little as Jess' voice filled the room. Though there had been a lot of sexual tension between the two during her high school years, time and circumstance prevented anything from ever happening. Something Rory sometimes still regretted. "Anyway, I was thinking about ordering out tonight and you know how those delivery guys always have trouble finding my place so I'm gonna send them to your place. I'll even order you some Indian food, even though I still maintain that we'll have to burn down your dorm, which would make a great excuse to get you out of exams. I'll see you at eight-ish. I'll bring movies. Later." Rory called upon her last resources and lifted her head. 2:30. That was enough time for a little nap...  
  
A heavy knocking jolted Rory from her sleep. She blinked her eyes several times, trying to adjust to the darkness. Darkness? Just how long had she slept? She pulled herself up and stretched a little, glancing at the clock. 8:07!?!  
  
"Ror?" Jess' muffled voice came from behind the door.  
  
"Shit" Rory mumbled as she threw off her wrinkled clothes and pulled on a torn gray t-shirt and low-slung navy blue sweatpants. " Jess won't care what I look like," she thought to herself as she tied her hair back in a loose bun. "Why didn't India wake me?!" As she searched for her socks, she noticed a blue post-it note with India's messy scrawl on it.  
  
"Gone out with Dave, Josie, and Damien. Be back late-or early, depending on how you look at it. You looked so cute sleeping (and since I know that's been a neglected task with you lately-the sleeping, not the looking cute), I thought I'd let you rest. Groceries are in the fridge. Your mom called again. She mentioned flogging for not answering your phone. I'd mention the child abuse laws. Later! Love, India"  
  
"Okay, Rory," Jess' muffled voice had taken on a slightly anxious tone. "I don't know if you're passed out on the floor from coffee deprivation or something, so I'm using my key..." Rory slid out in front of the door as Jess opened it cautiously.  
  
"Hello gorgeous," He smiled as Rory grinned and shoved a piece of hair behind an ear. "I come bearing nourishment."  
  
"My hero!" Rory exclaimed happily, stealing one of the copious plastic bags. "You rented 'Session Nine' again." She wrinkled her nose, her voice taking on an almost whiny tone. "You know I won't be able to sleep."  
  
"You won't be sleeping anyway. You're too nervous." Replied Jess non- chalantly between bites of egg roll. The two sat on the couch, shifting around to find a comfortable position. Finally choosing on Rory leaning slightly on Jess' chest and Jess' arm draped lightly around the back of the couch, they started the movie.  
  
By the end of the film, Rory's vision was blurring again with drowsiness. Jess had already dozed off and she poked him lightly in the ribs to wake him. He made a noise that sounded half-way between and groan and a grunt and Rory mused how much like Luke he could be. Ah Luke. And thinking about Luke meant thinking about Lorelai (and coffee). God, those two had taken forever to get together. Mom had gotten married at thirty-four, and was thinking about more children at thirty-six. Rory sympathized with her mother, searching for love even in her thirties and finally finding it right under her nose. Jess rubbed his eyes then grinned sheepishly at Rory. This was not the first time he'd fallen asleep in her dorm.  
  
"Jess, do you think that'll be us?" Jess, not having participated in Rory's train of thought, was left on the outside, incredibly confused. As many were when talking to a Gilmore.  
  
"You mean going into an old insane asylum to clear out Asbestos? I'd safely guess not."  
  
"No I mean like Luke and Lorelai." She said this as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Jess was still confused.  
  
"Uh, me wearing flannel and you having a kid at sixteen? Rory, is there something you're not sharing with the rest of the class?" She hit him lightly again.  
  
"Shut up. I mean, do you think we'll both still be searching for love at thirty-three?" Jess seemed to think about this for a moment while Rory stared at him intently.  
  
"Maybe." He said finally, not alleviating any of Rory's fears.  
  
"I wish there was some way we could guarantee we wouldn't be. I want kids and a family and I really don't like cats." Jess chuckled and began playing with a strand of Rory's hair. Rory found this comforting, he'd done it for years when he was thinking around her.  
  
"I'll marry you." Rory's eyebrows shot so far up, she was sure they'd reached her hairline.  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
"Not now, dork. I mean, we'll get married. If neither of us are married by..."  
  
"Twenty-six." Rory answered promptly. Jess smirked and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"So young. Can't wait to spend the rest of your life with me?"  
  
"No, doofus. I want kids and I don't know, twenty-six sounds right." She shrugged a little and Jess softened. He hugged her gently and began playing with her hair again.  
  
"Twenty-six it is. .If neither of us are married by your twenty sixth birthday, we'll marry each other. Deal?" Rory turned to him and was happy with the sincerity she saw in his eyes. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes.  
  
"Deal." 


	2. Chapter Two

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. I've never seen "My Best Friend's Wedding" so I went on Amazon.com to find the plot behind it and now I've got that plot bunny running around in my head, screwing around with my ideas. I promise I won't make it like the movie (Rory's way prettier than Julia Roberts). Anyway, I'm sorry it's short, but next chapter is when the fun begins.  
  
Rory Gilmore hated Mondays. Though not as much as she hated decaf coffee, it was definitely more than the macaraena and Glitter. So she was very relieved when the old elevator in her apartment building (which smelled suspiciously of cooked chicken and made her mouth water) creaked up to the top floor and she could see her little apartment as the doors slid open. She wrestled with her bag, her chocolate brownie frappucino she'd acquired on the trip home to keep from falling asleep on the commute, a few books she'd gotten from the library, and her purse before finally finding the key and slipping it into the lock. The groan the door emitted as it swung open was the most pleasant noise she'd heard all day and she mentally noted never to fix that door. The apartment was simple but it was home. Her mother had claimed it wasn't even an apartment, more like a loft but she didn't care what the hell it was called so long as it was hers.  
  
She set down her books and her bag, tossing the now empty plastic cup into the trash as she flipped through the day's mail. A few bills and offers for new credit cards made up the majority of letters but she put aside a letter from Britain and one postmarked in Stars Hollow. After putting on a fresh pot of coffee and ordering some Thai food, she changed into a sweatshirt that was too large for her and a pair of jeans and settled on her bed with the letters. Lane's was short and sweet, her time had been cut short ever since the birth of her daughter but she'd always managed a letter or two to Rory a week. After finishing it and flipping through the pictures Lane always enclosed, she padded out to the kitchen for her coffee. The sun was beginning to drip down the horizon, melting into the puddle of the concrete buildings. She leaned a little against the window and closed her eyes as the warm orange glow washed over her cheeks like water. The doorbell jarred her out of her thoughts and she reluctantly left her thoughts and got her dinner. Her slippers scuffed as she walked back to the bedroom, the sound breaking the silence of the apartment. It was lonely sometimes but after such a close-knit life as she had in Stars Hollow, a little privacy was welcome.  
  
She flopped ungracefully onto the large white comforter on her bed and began eating her Pad Thai. The letter still smelled a little like him. She carefully opened it and began reading. Jess had surprised everyone when he announced he got a job as a photographer. He spent the night in Rory's apartment when they celebrated, his usual spot on the couch was ready made for him and the two stayed up till early in the morning discussing his career choice. "I'd always loved the pictures painted in books," He took a sip of his drink and looked before looking at Rory again. "And the way that they could change your perspective with words. And I want to do that with images. Write a book in pictures instead of writing pictures in books." She thought it was the best explanation she'd heard. And his talent was unparalleled in this time. So he was in Britain now, photographing life on the other side of the ocean. She envied him. He'd been gone for four months but his letters did what his photos did. They told the stories of Britain and painted portraits of another country. She missed him but his happiness made her feel better about his absence.  
  
She read the letter twice, laughing at his satire and closing her eyes at several points, trying to see all that he saw. But the last lines were what struck her the most.  
  
"Well Gilmore, your 26th birthday's coming up in two weeks and I've booked a plane ticket to have me home in a week. I'll see you then. Love, Jess."  
  
She remembered the promise they'd made in college and she wondered a little if he did too. She wouldn't bring it up. It would be awkward and almost like she was begging. Yes, she wouldn't mention it to anyone. Especially not to her boyfriend, Robbie. 


	3. Chapter Three

Rory Gilmore loved her birthday. Every year, her mother went all out and made her birthday one for the record books. This year was no exception. Her mother went into detail about her party, which was supposed to be purple. All purple. Purple everywhere. She claimed it was because she had been up late watching VH-1's "I Love the 80's" and they'd gone into Prince's "Purple Rain" which had made its debut the same year as Rory's birth). So when she showed up a week before her birthday on her mother's doorstep she knew what she was getting herself into.  
  
"Rory! Dahling! How are you?" Lorelai's fake southern accent rang off the walls as she hugged her daughter.  
  
"I'm currently having my ribs snap off one by one, puncturing my lung cavity which is slowly filling with blood so that I only have ten minutes left to live." She managed through gasped breaths. Lorelai may have been over forty but she was still as strong as ever.  
  
"Oops," Lorelai released her sheepishly but held her at arm's length. "You get prettier and prettier every time I see you. Have you been sneaking off to the plastic surgeon or are you in the pretty fairy's good graces?"  
  
"Neither, you just spend too much time with Miss Patty." Rory finished dragging her bag inside and stood up. The house looked the same as it always did. When Luke had finally married Lorelai, Rory had wondered how it would make the house look, with the two of them living together. It didn't change anything, well except that there was a plaid flannel shirt hanging from the banister and a baseball cap on the middle of the couch. "Robbie is coming in on Tuesday." She announced as she made her way into her old bedroom. It was still the same as she left it the last time she visited. She smiled to herself that some things never changed.  
  
"Goody, I've missed Robert. Haven't seen him in a bit." Lorelai remarked casually while she poured a mug of coffee for Rory.  
  
"I know you have," Rory walked into the living room and stretched out on the couch, moving Luke's hat first. Lorelai joined her, accompanied by two steaming mugs of coffee. "I have too. I haven't seen him in a few days."  
  
"Speaking of people we haven't seen in a while," Lorelai grinned. "Jess is coming in today. 1:30 bus. He's expecting a certain someone to meet him at the stop and I doubt very much it's Kirk or Taylor." Rory's face split into a grin that would have lit a thousand light bulbs.  
  
"Today? But he said not till Wednesday!" Rory squealed and grabbed her mother in a hug.  
  
"He couldn't wait to see you! He said he had a surprise for you!" Lorelai laughed and hugged her daughter back. "It's 1:20 now, you'd better get going!"  
  
"I'm off like a dirty shirt!" Lorelai's grin continued long after the slam of the door indicated her daughter's departure.  
  
Rory hated it when she couldn't name an emotion. Right now, the torrent of feelings that was flooding through her made her uneasy, which only added to them. She was nervous, it had been months since she'd seen Jess. What if she'd changed? What if he'd changed? And he didn't know about Robbie. That really wasn't her fault, she reasoned internally. Jess had left a day before Robbie had asked her out. And now, months later, she had never really known when or where to put it into her letters to him. She certainly hadn't expected for the Robbie thing to be serious. But here she was, waiting on this park bench, bringing back memories and sincerely hoping that Jess wouldn't be hurt. And she was excited. She missed Jess. She always did whenever he left, it felt like a part of her was gone too. There was no one to call late at night when she had found a movie they both enjoyed on TV, there was no random bouquet of flowers on her doorstep with a cup of coffee, there was no book tossed on her lap as he dashed around his kitchen making them dinner. There was no Jess, and that always made her sad. He made her feel comfortable, made her feel secure. She was independent, sure. She had always been afraid of being alone, ever since high school, but college and her new life had taught her that solitude wasn't as bad as she thought. But companionship was infinitely better. She twisted the ring that Jess had given her for her 21st birthday nervously. She never took it off and as she ran her finger against the engraving, her nerves calmed. She smiled a little as she re-read the inscription: "It's always me and you." Yes, it would always be the two of them. Side by side. And she wouldn't bring up the deal to him. No, that would just make things awkward and he probably didn't even remember it. Nope, not unless he brings it up. She released a breath she didn't even realize she'd been holding and grinned as the mammoth silver bus squeaked to a halt.  
  
"Rory!" His voice rang out with a sincere happiness that made Rory's heart jump. He grabbed her and pulled her into a warm hug. She closed her eyes, reveling in the warmth of his embrace and that smell that was uniquely Jess. A mix of leather and spice, and some strange fabulous scent that was only him. She reluctantly released her death grip on him to get a good look at him. He hadn't changed. She mentally chided herself. Of course he wouldn't change. He's Jess. Good, dependable Jess.  
  
"Rory, I have a surprise for you," Jess said with a wink.  
  
"Oh Jess, you didn't steal one of the hats from the Queen's guards did you?"  
  
"Sadly, my kleptomaniac-like ways are a thing of the past. Though I did manage to pick something else up in London." Jess smiled at her again as he gestured behind him. "Meet Lucy." Rory's heart seemed to stop beating in her chest as a pretty petite blonde girl came up behind Jess. Rory prayed that no one heard her knuckles pop as she fisted her hands. Lucy's curls glistened in the sun as she grinned at Rory, extending a perfectly manicured hand. Her green eyes showed sincere friendliness and Rory had to control the urge to claw them out. Where had all this come from? She wondered. She was just being overprotective. After all, Jess was like a brother to her. And it had been a while since he'd dated anyone. His last girlfriend had been over a year ago, Aimee Finch who had broken his heart when she'd dumped him for an ex. Rory shook Lucy's hand politely and even managed a warm smile. Jess grinned, obviously pleased that his girlfriend and his best friend were getting along. As the three walked towards Luke's Rory listened a little as Lucy and Jess talked, feeling her heart sink as she realized just how nice and down-to-earth this girl was. She had no reason to hate her. "I have Robbie," Rory reminded herself as she watched Jess take Lucy's hand affectionately. "I have Robbie. Even if I'm not sure of what I want right now." 


End file.
